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Copywork
About This Passage
The morning after Stanley's lightning-flash vision, he tries to see the fist-and-thumb peak again in normal daylight. What was dramatic in the storm is disappointing in the sun. The mountains are just 'dark shadows on the horizon,' and the thumb — if it is even the right peak — 'didn't seem very impressive.' Sachar is showing something important: a vision that felt powerful at night may look ordinary by day. Stanley now has to decide whether to trust what he saw in the lightning or what he sees in the sunlight.
When the sun came up a couple of hours later, Stanley looked for "the thumb of God." The mountains were little more than dark shadows on the horizon. He thought he could make out a spot where the top ...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 30 to your parent. Start with Zigzag's questionable birthday, then move to the harassment over the cookie, the fight, Zero's rescue of Stanley, and finally Zero's shovel swing and escape onto the lake. Explain what the Warden really cares about — and what she pretends to care about.
Discussion Questions
- Zigzag accepts a cookie from Mr. Pendanski and then keeps trying to force it on Stanley, saying 'Please eat my cookie.' The cookie is supposed to be a gift, but it becomes a weapon. What does this tell you about how Zigzag is using manners and politeness to start a fight without looking like he started it?
- The Warden asks Zero what he has learned. When Zero correctly reads 'cat' and figures out 'fat' and 'chat' on his own, Mr. Pendanski laughs and calls him a 'genius' sarcastically. Why does Mr. Pendanski want so badly for Zero to be stupid? What would it mean for Mr. Pendanski if Zero were actually smart?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
The bright star at the center of our sky that gives Earth its light and heat.
Item 2
Very tall rocky hills that rise high above the land around them.
Item 3
Dark shapes made when an object blocks light from behind.
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Critical Thinking
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